Wow - what a whirlwind of a day - we can hardly believe it went by so fast!  The House and Senate had twenty plus bills to vote on today, so they were very busy on the floor but were able to steal a few minutes to come speak with us.  We met Congressmen John Tanner and Steve Cohen in the Rayburn Room outside the House floor this morning. They were both very excited to hear Madeline's story and indicated that health care and children specifically were high priorities.  Congressman Tanner's own granddaughter is a patient at Monroe Carrell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt with a congenital heart defect, so he definitely understands the kind of care needed and the importance of fighting for that for our kids.  We actually shot a little video footage with Tim, Madeline and me saying a few words about our goals here.  That footage will then be pitched in Memphis for possible tv spots on the news. 

 

We have felt so much comraderie with the other families participating here.  We saw many of them in the halls, in the Rayburn Room, and along the streets surrounding the Capitol. It's only been a couple days, but we feel like we have made some new friends; I guess since we are all so passionate about the cause, there is an immediate bond.  Madeline even noticed twin girls Andrea and Alyson are always chewing gum, so she told them today that if their gum got yucky, we had some they could have!

 

We had a nice lunch provided by NACHRI.  There was enough time to relax and take a breather.  Eli even fell asleep in the stroller on the way there.  Next, we were on to meet with Senator Bob Corker's staff.  Senator Corker himself was not able to meet with us because another meeting was called at the last minute at the same time as ours.  The meeting with his staff was productive; they were open to our points and eager to talk about their recent support.

 

We traveled back and forth between the House and Senate several times. We were so thankful to have Tim from NACHRI along with us.  He was wonderful with the kids and had so much energy!  We were also very lucky to have had staff members take us through the underground tunnels!  It was so awesome to see some things that we will probably never get to see again!  Later in the day, we even got to ride a miniature subway that the legislators use to navigate the Capitol. As you can imagine, that was the hit of the day for the kids! We headed over to the House side to see Congressman Marsha Blackburn.  We waited for her around the Rayburn Room as she was to come out to see us from another vote.  We met her in the hallway, and she asked Madeline what she was doing here, and she said, "We're sight-seers!"  We asked her to tell the Congressman what Le Bonheur did for her, and she said, "Le Bonheur helped my heart."  It was so fun to have Madeline participating along with us - she was much more a part of the conversation than she was in Nashville only a year before.  We were able to have just a few words with Congressman Blackburn, and then she was off to the floor again.

 

To get back over to the Senate side to see Senator Lamar Alexander, we got a very special treat!  We took a short cut across the rotunda of the capital thanks to the "staffers" leading us.  It was beautiful!  There was a statue of Ronald Reagan that had just been unveiled last week, huge paintings, and the intricate detail of the dome was amazing.  I guess we've been talking a lot about George Washington because Eli pointed to his statue and said, "That George Washington!"  We both started cracking up and couldn't believe he actually said that!  Madeline kept wanting to see where his "wooden teeth" were!

 

We made it to Senator Alexander's office and were able to meet with some of his staff also. They were very attentive and interested in what we had to say.  Maureen talked about needing incentives for doctors to pursue specialities in pediatrics, and we all talked about all kids needing access to affordable healthcare.  When Senator Alexander came in the room, Madeline went up to him and said, "Children's hospitals help me and other kids, too!"  That was all that needed to be said! The Senator looked at her and said, "Well, it looks like they did a pretty good job!" 

 

After our long day on the Hill, we rode the Metro back to put on comfy clothes and have some dinner.  Now, we are trying to process all that happened today.  We feel so fortunate to have been asked to represent Le Bonheur here in Washington. It was such an honor, and we felt so empowered to see our lawmakers at work and listening to what their constituents have to say. We hope we have made some impact on their thinking about children's health care issues.  Thank you for all your support and interest in this blog.  We will have a couple more updates as we tour around D.C. the next few days!